I think the college matters too. Mine is Maxwell which is competitive but not like arch or Newhouse.
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Howās Whitman?
I just donāt know. They tell everyone to do FAFSA, though our expected family contribution is around $45K based on other schools and those calculators. I wouldnāt think theirs would be greater, if at all. Iād think the opposite is FAR more likely. Iād blame it on the tuition exchange we requested, but they could just say no. RIT said no tuition exchange, but gave him a $25K/yr scholarship instead, which is actually better. Iām sure they knew weād get a tuition benefit if there is no exchange.
As for Syracuse, he really wanted Architecture, and his guidance counselor said heād get into Syracuse before heād get into RPI, so he was basically starting to pack for Syracuse once RPI accepted him. A complete Syracuse rejection for Architecture was a total shock. Even Northeastern waitlisted him. She shouldnāt say things like that.
Iād have him try a last ditch appeal, but thatās just a Hail Mary. Doubt they would go from rejection to acceptance and skip waitlist based on an appeal letter. I donāt think his head is in a place to do anything right now, heās reeling from this, and heās still got AP courses and doing volunteer tutoring, etc. To jam in a long shot letter is probably asking too much.
RPI is a great school for architectureājust go!
Every school is different I suppose, but he did include some sketches. Is he an artist? Absolutely not, but I was surprised how well his freehand sketches came out. But who am I? They also list several other forms of media to include, which he did. The fact that he designed something that an actual architect copied and submitted for municipal approval I thought might overcome any drawing deficiency. Itās architecture, not art. Still flummoxed his friend got in. He is despondent. They wanted to room together. My son got into RPI, but his friend did not. Just terrible all the way around. Itās a helpless feeling being powerless to help your kid. We are now in the midst of a day long power outage, which I can say does nothing to improve the situation.
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I agree. Between you and me, I prefer RPI, especially since itās much closer. But he toured RPI in the cold and Syracuse in the summer, when his 2 friends were with him, and they loved it. Only one got in. Iām afraid his mother and I donāt see eye to eye on college things. I prefer to be positive and only provide an opinion if asked. She didnāt do the tour of RPI with us, but she is a college administrator. All she said was that RPI has an ugly campus. I disagreed, but the damage was done. My son did not like the RPI dorms. I couldnāt argue - they were dingy, but it seems like dorms everywhere are lousy. At least RPI let us see them. Many donāt. It shouldnāt be what you base your decision on anyway. Maybe as a final tiebreaker.
Different Arch programs look at this differently. Schools like RPI, V-Tech (basically the tech schools) are going to be more heavily engineering focused. Syracuse and many others will tell you itās more art. S23 is finishing up his first year (not SU) and has spent the bulk of studio time hand sketching. During the SU Arch admissions presentation they said specifically āYour portfolio needs to be at least 12 pieces, we are looking for at least 8 of them to be hand sketches - doesnāt need to be building related, we want to see that you have the ability to draw what you see. Our students are those that always walk around with a sketch book and take every opportunity to open it upā. The SoA also said they donāt look at academics - āif your application is coming to us for review we know youāve already met the thresholds for the school, we are only looking at your fit into our programā.
Is it worth an appeal? Maybe - especially if there are new portfolio exhibits that heās done over the last 3-4 months that could be submitted for consideration.
Architecture is a tough admit all around. It sounds like your son has some great options in front of him.
Will she apply for Honors? If so, and sheās accepted, they are all housed in Sadler. But housing is not assigned until after May
Giving a thumbs up to Admissions. Had difficulty resetting password so I could not check applicant status like everyone else on Friday! Admissions responded late Saturday with a solution and all good now ā accepted with merit! Was concerned because no demonstrated interest, wanted acceptance before making the trip to tour, but 4.3W, 3.9UW, lots of good ECs - Eagle Scout, Volunteer Service, Summer Leadership Intern. Good luck everyone on your college choices.
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How to get off waitlist
I applied to the college of engineering and computer science.
I got waitlisted 2 days ago and to be honest I expected to get in. Syracuse was my top choice and Iām pretty bummed out about the waitlist. My stats are as follows
Gpa:96.7 unweighted
Rank:2/87
Test Optional
Decent ECs
Good essay
Decent supplemental(was on a time crunch)
Any tips on how to get off the waitlist?
What was your gpa?
4.01 on the 4.0 scale
Looking for some adviceā¦my Daughter was accepted to Newhouse but was not given any merit. If she strongly prefers Syracuse after visiting the last college on the list (others were visited Spring of 2023) and we want to approach admissions, what would be the best approach?
At that point, we would be looking for ādecentā merit and willing to sign that day. What would you do and NOT do? TIA.
I would have your guidance counselor make a call, assuming you have one. Also write a letter of continued interest articulating any increases in gpa, awards or other positive changes.
Can you appeal merit based scholarships? I got in but the price is way out of reach and I didnt receive any merit. (Im not getting any need based aid)
She will but might also choose an llc. I think itās required?
First of all - congrats on the acceptance.
It never hurts to go back to admissions looking for Merit but youāll find stories of mixed success. Those with the most success seem to already have a competitive financial offer on the table from a school that Syracuse would see as being a competitor. Be prepared to have to show that offer to the school and I would put the letter in the context of āMy Daughter is ready to sign with you immediately but we have a financial gapā¦ etcā. Be specific what youāre looking for. Also be prepared that they may tell you ānoā or offer you something but not get you the whole way there.
Iām assuming based on the note that you donāt qualify for need based aid since that all be part of the merit package anyhow (merit doesnāt stack with need based aid).
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We would like to do an admitted student tour. Are they all general tours or do they have specific ones for the business school?
Thank you, no we arenāt in a need based category but otoh donāt really earn enough to afford full tuition, as in middle/slightly upper middle class. Iām not sure that we would be able to rationalize the cost for our circumstances and will also have 2 in college at the same time. I appreciate your response.
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Check your DM regarding the engineering school.